Cassidy Buchanan competed in the District No. 3 4-H Horse Show June 4, at Lakeside Arena in Frankfort, Ky. She qualified for the Kentucky State Horse Show in all six classes. The state show will be July 2, in Louisville.

Cassidy and Ten LS Splendor’s Black Velvet were District No. 3 4-H Show Reserve Champion with a blue Danish in jumpers 34 inches and below with three clear rounds of seven jumps each and a time of 31 seconds. Cassidy and Faibens Feeling Inside placed fourth with a blue Danish and a clear round in hunter-senior.

With June comes the start of summer and an abundance of fresh produce available at the River View Farmers Market. An in-season produce you may not necessarily associate with late spring and early summer is broccoli.

Broccoli actually has two growing seasons in Kentucky. Kentucky growers began harvesting their first crop in May and will continue to harvest through early July. The second season ends with a harvest in the late fall.

Many of us have fond memories of our grandfathers… the stories, the candy, the fishing lessons and life lessons we learn while visiting them are things we treasure and carry with us throughout our lives. But as family dynamics have changed, more and more grandfathers are finding the old adage of “spoil them rotten and send them home” no longer a reality. In fact, around 2.4 million grandparents across the United States are now raising their grandchildren.

From our county fair to the arrival of summer, June is a special time of the year. Do you know what else we celebrate this month? The dairy farmer! June is national dairy month and it is a great time for us to talk about cows and Kentucky dairy farmers.

If you haven’t had time to visit the Carroll County Fair this week, it is still open through Saturday night. The Carnival rides have been great and the Livestock Barn has been busy with lots of 4-H and open livestock shows. There have been Pageants and music on the big stage along with events in the ring. Pick up a fair catalog to see what events are still scheduled for the rest of the week.

The Exhibit Building has many items displayed from local and surrounding areas. Participants have brought in their best items to display for everyone to see.

I hope everyone had a safe and exciting Memorial Day. After being outside most of the weekend with our granddaughter, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone about Sun Safety for our children. It’s often said that the habits children learn at a young age carry over to adulthood. Safe sun exposure should be included in those healthy habits.

Young people often list butterflies among their favorite insects. Planting flowers these insects prefer can help attract more butterflies to your garden. Asking your 4-H’er to help gives you the opportunity to share gardening skills with them and helps instill in them an appreciation for these colorful insects and nature.